Name | Olivia Drabczyk |
District | 51 |
Email Address | oliviadrabczyk4council@gmail.com |
What is your plan for getting the city back to work, particularly in its hardest hit sectors? What kind of workforce development programs do you envision that would provide access to communities of color and people with disabilities? | I fully support Res1611 introduced by Councilmember Van Bramer calling for the NYS legislature to pass S1141A, which would create a Works Progress Administration (reminiscent of the New Deal following the Great Depression). This would help to boost NY’s creative economy as well as other hardest hit sectors. Projects in the Works Progress Administration would target “unemployed, out-of-school youth, and have a geographic preference for areas suffering from high unemployment.” Support and full funding for existing workforce development programs such as UAU, SYEP and WLG (through Staten Island based NYCID) is also essential. In all employment sectors, it is essential to connect youth workforce development professionals, vocational rehabilitation service providers, disability service providers, community rehabilitation providers, and high school staff that work with youth on post-secondary transition planning with support and services for helping youth with disabilities into apprenticeship and vocational training programs. To address stark employment disparities, city funded initiatives should consider an aspirational hiring target in their economic recovery for employing individuals with disabilities; as well as flexible scheduling/tele-work options that expand accessibility in the workplace. |
What is your plan for creating healthy stable communities? How do you envision enlivening vacant commercial and city owned spaces? | In the short term, New York City will continue to see a large number of vacancies in ground-floor commercial and retail spaces due to the economic devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic. Empty storefronts are bad for everyone, but landlords might be hesitant to drop asking rents (or invest in converting them for another use) in a recovering economy, and absent other opportunities, they will choose to keep these spaces empty for months or even years. The City should make sure these vacant storefronts don’t sit empty: they should be used as studio, gallery, and performance spaces for working, local artists. By partnering with neighborhood BIDs and arts organizations, the City can provide temporary spaces to support the recovery of our creative economies. The “rent” paid by the City on behalf of artists would incentivize landlords to participate, and setting firm three or six month renewable terms would provide certainty to both the landlords and the artists. NYCEDC may be the correct vehicle for this program so it can be launched quickly and reach as many storefronts in as many neighborhoods as possible, as fast as possible, and NYCEDC would likely need to work closely with the Department of Consumer Affairs and Small Business Services. Resolutions should be proposed for NY State to provide property tax reduction for landlords, and possible income tax incentives for investors in commercial theater spaces/productions. In addition, the City controls a vast amount of outdoor space. My campaign has a plan to extend Open Streets and Open Culture into our public parks. My plan would complement not only those programs, but efforts to activate nearby indoor spaces as well. |
What do you foresee is the role of creative economies in supporting economic recovery in New York City particularly for communities most affected by environmental, housing, and health instability due to COVID including our aging, immigrant, and working class communities of color? | Economists agree that governments, private companies and nonprofits recognize how critical creative industries are to encouraging recoveries in all major cities. As per the Comptroller’s Office, New York’s creative sector is responsible for some $110 billion in total economic activity employing close to 300,000 people. In Los Angeles, more than 40 million people work in the creative sector. The art community was instrumental to bringing Detroit back from economic ruin and as mentioned, the creative industry had all to do with the success of bringing the downtown Financial district and Tribeca back following 9/11. With this knowledge the City Council and the Mayor’s office should consider the following initiatives: Assure that the creative community is represented in the executive branch of City government to advise the Council, as well as, the Mayor on issues related to creative community revival. Provide grants through a public-private partnership that would pay the creative community to document the stories related to this unprecedented time in our nation. There are many narratives that should reach the public so they might understand the historic nature of the pandemic on People Of Color, immigrants, LGBTQIA community and women and children. Engage the creative community and their workers with funding to address local health issues with art therapy and other methodologies to promote mental health wellness. Assure that labor laws and other administrative policies, such as insurance, housing and unemployment benefits, to name a few, are updated to assist the creative community for the long term. To this end, my campaign supports current calls to create permanent eligibility for independent contractors and gig workers through Pandemic Unemployment Insurance. Additionally, a review of Department of Labor errors in Unemployment overpayments must be conducted, and fees should be forgiven (there are existing calls for this action that my campaign supports). Expand New York Cares and other health care policies and programs to assure affordable, quality health insurance for all. Support programs that provide youth development in the creative field such as the neON photography program and other similar programming. Support cultural organizations and assist in their partnerships with private businesses to provide settings for safe learning and wellness programs |
What is your plan for the city’s school system and what is your vision of the role that arts in education plays? | Arts programming and education was essential to getting me through school as a student. I persevered through 8 period days of Math A and B, Chemistry, and Technical Drawing just to be eligible to attend play practice after school. As an educator, I have seen firsthand how arts programming and education can not just support development of creativity in students, but can support in processing, managing, and coping with emotions. As the city appropriately seeks to support Social Emotional Learning in schools, it is essential that arts education be considered. Arts opportunities allow students and educators to engage in a context that is separate from traditional academic instruction, and often promotes productive risk taking (when done with intentionality) that provides opportunities for social emotional learning. Too often, in times of economic hardship, arts education is first on the chopping block. We must ensure that arts funding is protected and whenever possible even expanded. I will continue to support discretionary funding for school and community-based arts programs such as Illuminart and Projectivity which support students in negotiating social justice themes in addition to grief, loss, and mental health struggles. In addition, I support expanding arts education beyond K-12 settings, and promoting arts opportunities in senior residency centers as well; a group hard hit emotionally and physically by the COVID-19 pandemic. Income tax incentives for investors mentioned previously should be considered for investments in arts education and programming; as well as targeted relief grant opportunities for groups and programs otherwise not eligible for other relief funding. |
What is your plan to address the health care needs of the city's many communities? | I strongly support calls to ensure every school is transitioned to a community school, offering wrap-around health and wellness services for students, families, and community members, in addition to enrichment programs such as those in the arts. Given the lack of a public hospital in Staten Island and specifically in the South Shore, community health centers through school based and public/private partnerships will be essential in expanding NYC Cares health services to all New Yorkers including those in communities hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. I also support continuing the increased Advanced Premium Tax Credits passed through the American Rescue Plan to dramatically reduce the cost of health insurance plans offered through the New York State of Health Marketplace. Access to quality, affordable health care should be a right, not a privilege. |
What are your plans for supporting incarcerated and formerly incarcerated New Yorkers? | As an undergraduate student studying mental health counseling and social work, I observed firsthand the transformative power of sustained art programming for incarcerated individuals. I engaged with participants in the Rehabilitation Through the Arts (RTA) program at its original site at Sing Sing, and observed the use of art as a social, emotional and cognitive growth tool. In 2019, RTA cited a recidivism rate of only 7% amongst its participants compared to a national recidivism rate of 60%. Support for sustained art programming such as this will be a priority. In addition, ensuring that amendments to the Fair Chance Act or “Ban-the-Box” legislation are implemented effectively (set to take effect in July 2021) will be an essential Council role through oversight of city agencies. Clear benefits in community engagement and relationship building have also been cited in research conducted of neON arts participation for individuals through the NYC Department of Probation. In the past, criticisms of this programming has been that it did not engage directly with local community groups. Tax and grant incentives should be explored with existing community based arts and workforce organizations to take on designated neON arts and other similar programs. |
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